Publication of Wenzhou crash report postponed

10:50, September 16, 2011

The final report by a team investigating the train crash in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, was not released as expected Thursday, with the exact date of its publication still unavailable.

Zhou Xiaoxin, who heads a group of experts as part of the investigation team, confirmed that the final report would be announced soon but without giving details of a timeframe, the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po reported.

The group's work, which is to analyze the mechanical faults, was drawing to an end, said Zhou. "But the work of the whole team is still under way."

On July 23, two high-speed trains collided on a viaduct in the suburbs of Wenzhou, killing 40 people and injuring at least 192. An investigation team was set up by the State Council the next day to probe the accident.

At the investigation team's first plenary session on July 28, Wang Dexue, a deputy chief of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), promised to draw up a written report before September 15 and announce the findings by the middle of the month, China National Radio reported.

Huang Yi, spokesperson of SAWS, told the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald on August 30 that a basic report on technical issues has already been completed, but more time is needed to finish the whole report, which will determine which parties are liable and suggest appropriate penalties.

"It takes a lot of time to identify the individuals or departments responsible for the crash," said Huang.

On September 14, the Shanghai-based National Business Daily said that an improperly designed signal system that failed after being hit by lightning and management flaws had caused the accident.